Here's a closer look at key players for the Bucs and who or what trending up or down for each team as former UT assistant coach and quarterback Randy Sanders returns to Knoxville:

Logan Marchi

A year ago, Marchi was the starting quarterback at Temple leading the Owls into Notre Dame. He transferred to ETSU during the spring semester and won the starting job in preseason camp, holding off three-year starter Austin Herink.

The junior showed why in Week 1. He threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-29 passing.

Marchi started the first seven games last season at Temple before going out with an injury and losing the spot, leading to his eventual transfer. He threw for more than 1,600 yards with nine touchdowns in 12 career games with the Owls.

Nasir Player

The junior defensive lineman has been a force for two seasons at ETSU. He was a Southern Conference All-Freshman team selection in 2016, then jumped to a first-team All-SoCon pick as a sophomore.

The 6-foot-5, 241-pound lineman steadily disrupts plays and gets in the backfield. He had 13.5 tackles for loss last season with seven sacks and six quarterback hurries. The Columbia, S.C., native kept it going to open the 2018 season: He had two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries in Week 1.

Quay Holmes

Holmes redshirted last season at ETSU, then made a large first impression Saturday.

Holmes stepped in to shoes of Falon Lee, who graduated after last season, as the feature back to start the season for the Bucs. So far, so good. The 6-foot-1, 216-pound running back ran for 118 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown against Mars Hill.

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Tennessee defensive lineman Shy Tuttle

The senior defensive lineman matched a career high with five tackles in Tennessee’s season-opener — the fourth time he has reached that mark. The interior lineman also recorded one of two Tennessee sacks. His came in the second quarter, pushing West Virginia back near halftime and helping force an eventual field-goal attempt.

Tennessee defensive lineman Shy Tuttle (2) on the bench during the final minutes of their 40-14 loss to West Virginia in the Belk College Kickoff game in Charlotte, NC Saturday, September 1, 2018.

Pruitt praised Tuttle as one of the bright spots on the defense Monday.

“I thought he played with good pad level and was striking their guys front,” Pruitt said. “He probably needs to improve on pass rush and finishing on the quarterback, but I thought he was solid.”

ETSU run game

ETSU had an abysmal rushing attack last season, averaging 71 yards per game.

The Bucs ran for 238 yards against Division II Mars Hill with 227 coming from a trio of running backs. Holmes led the way, while freshman Jacob Saylors rushed nine times for 70 yards and senior Matt Thompson ran four times for 39 yards.

The three running backs averaged at least 6.9 yards per carry after the team’s top rushers — Jajuan Stinson and Lee — averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry in 2017.

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Tennessee’s graduate transfers

The Vols brought in a trio of graduate transfers to bolster positions of need. But it wasn’t exactly a sparkling debut for quarterback Keller Chryst, running back Madre London and offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy.

Kennedy was the lone starter of the group, but he had early struggles at center. His season then came to an end Tuesday, when he suffered a torn ACL. London did provide a pair of solid runs, but was limited to 12 yards on five carries. Chryst, who battled for the starting quarterback job, played only the final series.

It is worth noting Pruitt plans to play Chryst more against ETSU. His shot is coming. And Tennessee plans to go by-committee at running back, so the same probably holds true for London. But for a group that could have provided the backbone up the middle of the UT offense, it wasn’t a stellar first week.

ETSU kicker JJ Jerman

Jerman previously proved to be a relatively reliable kicker, going 34-of-47 in his first three years. Last season, he went 14-of-18 on field-goal attempts and earned second-team All-SoCon honors.

But he was 0-for-2 on Saturday, leading to a much closer game for the first three quarters than Sanders would have liked. The senior kicker missed from 44 yards and 37 in the first half.